Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and

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Ruiz-Parker Final Presser Quick Quotes

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Photo of the day

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Jones-Gunn: Skill vs. Will

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Jones Jr. – Gunn Kickoff

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On Wednesday, Mexicali Mayor Francisco José Pérez Tejada Padilla welcomed the event “with open arms” during a press conference that also included commission officials Alvaro Andrade and Armando Apodaca, as well as Zanfer operationns director Guillermo Brito.

The WBO and president Francisco “Paco” Valcárcel paid tribute to four veteran official who have worked more than 100 world title bouts. Those honored were Roberto Ramírez, César Ramos, Nelson Vázquez and Luis Pabón, who have judged or refereed bouts around the world.

Ramirez is the most senior among the group has 173 world title bouts in his 40 year career. Ramos, who started as judge in 1972, has 160 world title bouts, while Vazquez, a judge since 1980, has 120 world title bouts. Pabon, the youngest at 44, has 103 world title bouts as a referee and judge. For more details and photos click here…

In the co-feature of the event Ola Afolabi (UK, 15-2-3, 6 KOs) will be fighting in a 12 round bout against Lubos Suda (Czech Republic, 23-4-1, 15 KOs) for the WBO Intercontinental Cruiserweight Title. Afolabi is promoted by K2 Promotions. For more details and photos click here…

Unbeaten IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (27-0, 22 KOs) and 168-pound contender Brian Magee (34-3-1, 24 KOs) showed each other great respect at Wednesday’s press conference from Boutique Videotron in Montreal, Canada leading up to their title bout on Saturday, March 19 on SHOWTIME® at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) from the Bell Centre in Montreal. The telecast will begin with the rebroadcast of the March 12 action-packed SHOWTIME PPV® fight between World Boxing Association (WBA) Super Welterweight champion Miguel Cotto and Ricardo Mayorga. For more details and photos click here…

Dante Jardon is very confident to come out with a victory for his next fight to be held on Friday night at the “Jose Cuervo Saloon” in Mexico City against Colombian Humberto Martinez and he expects to add two more titles in his boxing career, the Latino WBC and WBO at 130 pounds. Jardon said this after finishing the press conference of this afternoon in Mexico City. “I’m going out with the same courage as usual. I will win by knockout or decision, to correspond the confidence that All Star Boxing of the promoter Tutico Zavala has placed in me, and continue step by step in the sport of fists.”

In the picture from left to right: Dante “Crazy” Jardon, promoters Tuto Zabala Jr and Ricardo Maldonado Jr, and Jesus “Estrella” Ruiz of Mexico who will face Angel Aguilar on Saturday and televised in Mexico on Cadena 3. Both shows will be held at Salon Jose Cuervo in Mexico City, Mexico and be promoted by All Star Boxing, Inc, Producciones Deportivas and RB Productions. Tickets for both are on sale at www.ticketmaster.com.mx

Junior middleweight contender Roberto ‘La Amenaza’ Garcia (28-3, 21 KOs) of Weslaco, Texas, under the tutelage of Eric Brown at the world famous Wild Card Boxing Gym in Hollywood, California, will headline and take on former world title challenger Jose ‘Shibata’ Flores (45-10, 26 KOs) of Los Angeles, California on Friday, March 25th at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, California in a 10-round junior middleweight bout, the fight card titled ‘All In’ is being presented by All Star Promotions. For more details and photos click here…

Golden Boy Promotions has announce the signing of two-division world champion Nonito Donaire (26-1, 18 KOs) to its roster of fighters. The 28-year-old native of the Philippines is coming off of a dominant second round stoppage of Fernando Montiel on February 19, which earned him the WBC and WBO bantamweight titles fighting under the banner of promotional rival Top Rank. “The Filipino Flash” has signed an exclusive, multi-year agreement with Golden Boy Promotions. “I’m honored to be joining so many great fighters and champions on the Golden Boy Promotions team, with,” said Donaire. “I’m going to fight my heart out every time I’m in the ring and will give fans the fights they want to see.”

“Nonito Donaire is one of the top boxers in the world today and we’re going to make sure he gets the chance to defend his world titles and stays as active as possible,” said Oscar de la Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “The bantamweight division is becoming one of the most competitive and exciting divisions in boxing and we look forward to promoting Nonito in great fights in the coming years.”

Below are quotes from the official press announcement issued today for the April 16 clash between WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto and #5 rated “Vicious” Victor Ortiz at the MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods in Mashantucket, Connecticut. The HBO broadcast kicks off with a same day replay of Amir “King” Khan (24-1, 17 KOs) defending his WBA super lightweight belt against Paul “Dudey” McCloskey (22-0, 12 KOs) from the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England.

Andre Berto: “This fight is exactly what boxing needs right now. Two young fighters in their primes going head-to-head. I’m excited and I know this is going to be a tremendous fight. I look forward to fighting in the MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods. I heard it’s a great facility and we plan to pack it and put on a great show. This is going to be a great fight that no one should miss.”

EPIX will present a closed captioned simulcast of WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko’s defense against Odlanier Solis on a jumbotron screen in Times Square on Saturday beginning at 6PM. “EPIX believes the heavyweight championship of the world is very big and very important to the sport of boxing and its fans,” said Mark Greenberg, president and CEO of EPIX. “That is why we are broadcasting it live, streaming it live, and for free, and putting it on the big screen in Times Square.”

Good possibility that Mexican star Saul “Canelo” Alvarez could make the first defense of his WBC super welterweight title in Mexico with potential sites being Guadalajara and Puebla and a possible date of June 18. Sources report that Canelo Promotions is still negotiating a venue, but it’s almost confirmed that Alvarez will making their first defense in Mexico. On Tuesday, WBC president Jose Sulaiman ruled out the possibility of an eliminator to find a mandatory challenger for Alvarez, saying he would fight the top available contender which appears to be England’s Ryan Rhodes.

Classic Entertainment & Sports has inked 21-year-old southpaw welterweight Dominic DeSanto (5-0-1, 5 KOs) to a promotional deal. He’ll make his CES debut on April 1 in a four-rounder against Kenny Gerald (1-1, 1 KO) on the undercard of a nationally-televised ESPN2 at Foxwoods Resort Casino’s Fox Theater.
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Unbeaten lightweight Hylon Williams Jr. (12-0, 3 KOs) returns after over a year of inactivity in a non-televised six-rounder on the undercard of the ESPN2 Friday Night Fights show at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. He has signed on with promoter Luis DeCubas of Blue Wave Group and relocated to Las Vegas.
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Female flyweight world champion Susi Kentikian returns to the ring on March 26 against Ana Arrazola in a bout that can be seen live and exclusive on www.Bild.de. Today was a big day for the “Killer Queen” who has a new book in stores titled “I Was Given Nothing” detailing her life from child refugee to world boxing champion.

After the announcement that shocked the MMA world hit the web on Saturday as Dana White announced that the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa LLC, has purchased the rights to their biggest active competitor, Strikeforce, Dana White, Zuffa CEO Lorenzo Feritta and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker gave some clarity on the recent acquisition during a conference call.

White quickly shot down any notion of the UFC and Strikeforce merging as he continuously pushed that both companies will be ran as separate entities. (more…)

Former WBA super lightweight champion Marcos Maidana has closed his training in Mexico City and moved to the final stage in Las Vegas for his fight with three-division world champion Erik “Terrible” Morales on April 9 in Las Vegas. Maidana prepared with Mexican trainer Rudy Perez in the Boxeo de Gala Gym of Dr. Fausto Daniel Garcia, sparring with Daniel Estrada, Jonathan Peña and Alejandro Barrera. Maidana traveled left with his team Tuesday night. “I’ve completed my time in Mexico according to plan and will finish our training Las Vegas for this great fight. My fight with Morales is very important and I’ve devoted much time to get in the best physical condition,” said Maidana.

Exciting, unbeaten super middleweight Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (23-0, 17 KOs) will travel to the backyard of former world title challenger Jesse Brinkley (35-6, 22 KOs) on an intriguing April 29 Telefutura telecast. According to the Reno Gazette Journal, the bout will take place at the Reno Events Center in Reno and be promoted by Let’s Get It On Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions. Matchmaker is Don Chargin.

There was a time when nobody cared about Paweł Wolak (29-1, 19 KOs). “I was working his fights five, even two years ago, sending stories and pictures but there were no takers, no interest, even in the Polish media. People asked ‘who is this Wolak guy?’ and the conversation was over. Now, after his performance against Yuri Foreman the story is much different,” says Wojtek Kubik, an accomplished New York based photographer and writer who has been following the career of the Polish version of “Raging Bull” for many years. (more…)

Miguel Cotto added another title to his illustrious career when he became the first champion of the newly created World Boxing Board (WBB). “The WBB was created in San Juan, Puerto Rico and its purpose is to rebuild confidence of the fans and the media. We will promote the creation of world titles to be awarded only to boxers who actually earn them through their performance,” said chief operating officer Santiago Albanese.

The first fight to be sanctioned was Cotto-Mayorga held on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where Cotto was presented with the super middleweight belt. Albanese said that beginning in April, the WBB will be issuing monthly ratings. The group will soon provide additional details of its creation and its future plans.

Well known matchmaker Chris Middendorf has launched United Boxers, a new promotional company which will present its first event on Friday, April 15th at the Maryland Sportsplex in Millersville, just south of Baltimore. The inaugural United Boxers event will showcase an all-star card of the area’s best young talent including cruiserweight Russ “The Hammer” Shiflett (9-0-1, 5 KOs), who will be featured in the main event.

Sometimes it’s difficult to tell who displays more nimbleness with opponents in boxing. Is it the fighters themselves or their promoters? Today’s press conference at the Seminole Hard Rock leaned a little towards the promoter’s corner as Heavyweight Factory boxing director Henry Rivalta announced some intriguing last-minute changes to this week’s edition of ESPN Friday Night Fights. Although last-minute changes can often work against a fighter (and promoter), the Heavyweight Factory showed some amazing “counter punching” ability in lining up quality replacements for their co-main event and undercard. For more details and photos click here…

Unusual is certainly the case of undefeated super middleweight Michael Oliveira (13-0, 11 KOs). The 20-year-old prospect, born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, raised in Miami, is one who steps into the ring for the pure love of boxing, not out of financial necessity. His father Carlos Oliveira is a wealthy textile industrialist who shares his son’s passion and manages his career. Together they are united in an adventure that may seem puzzling to many. Yet, young Michael will tell you that he has boxing in his blood since his grandfather was one of the great Eder Jofre’s favorite sparring partners. (more…)

Broadway Boxing, New York City’s longest running and most successful boxing series, returns March 29 to the most intimate venue for boxing in the country, the BB King Blues Club in Times Square. In the main event is junior lightweight José Pedraza, who turned pro in his last fight in his native Puerto Rico. Pedraza (1-0, 1 KO) is a highly touted 2008 Olympian and former amateur star. In the co-feature is junior welterweight Willie Monroe Jr. (10-0, 4 KOs), whose father was a middleweight fighter in the 90s, and his great uncle was the famous middleweight contender out of Philadelphia, Willie “The Worm” Monroe. Also in action is unbeaten light heavyweight Seanie Monaghan (6-0, 4 KOs). Tickets start at $55. Call 212-947-2577.

With their IBF Super Middleweight clash just days away, boxing superstar and unbeaten champ Lucian Bute and European titleholder Brian Magee participated in a media teleconference call Tuesday to discuss their upcoming fight for Bute’s belt on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING Saturday, March 19 live on SHOWTIME® at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) from Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.

Bute, who signed a multi-fight agreement with SHOWTIME in November 2010, is one of the most talented pound-for-pound and popular fighters of this era. He has won all but one of his title defenses by knockout, including four consecutive victories inside the distance. (more…)

Per Gustavo Aparicio/DIAaDIA of Panama media an official offer has been made to WBA featherweight champion Jonathon Barros (32-1-1, 18 KOs) of Argentina to defend his title in Panama against former world champion Celestino “Pelenchin” Caballero (34-3, 23 KOs) of Panama. Though June 4th was being discussed as the possible date for the fight the end of May is now being considered.

Highly talented super bantamweight prospect Efrain Esquivias (12-0, 8 KOs) of Carson, California, under the guidance of one of, if not the best trainer in boxing today, Freddie Roach at the world-renowned Wild Card Boxing Gym in Hollywood, California, will headline and meet fellow undefeated super bantamweight Sherali Dostiev (8-0-1, 2 KOs) of Tajikistan on Friday March 25th at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California in an eight round bout, the fight card dubbed ‘New Blood’ is being presented by Thompson Boxing Promotions. For more details and photos click here…

WBA interim world super bantamweight champion Guillermo “The Jackal” Rigondeaux, arguably the greatest amateur boxer of all-time, arrived March 7 in Ireland to complete his extensive training for his first title defense this Saturday night (Mar. 19) in Dublin against Irish favorite, former European title holder Willie “Big Bang” Casey. The Guillermo-Casey title fight features a pair of unbeaten boxers headlining a show promoted by Top Rank, Nowhere 2 Hyde Promotions and Dolphil Promotions.

Rigondeaux (7-0, 5 KOs), a southpaw now fighting out of Miami, was a 2-time Olympic Gold Medalist, as well as a 7-time national champion who captured a pair of World Championship titles during his amazing 243-4 amateur career.

After breaking training camp in Houston, Rigondeaux traveled to Ireland for his third visit having experienced an Irish heart-warming welcome in January, when he held a public workout before hundreds of mightily impressed boxing fans at the luxurious Montenotte Hotel in Cork. (more…)

Undefeated WBO Latino junior lightweight champion and hot Puerto Rican prospect Luis “El Artesano” Cruz (17-0,14 KOs) has agreed to fight former World Champion Román “Rocky” Martínez (24-1-1,15 KOs) in the Showtime co-main event of Juan Manuel López vs. Orlando Salido card on Saturday, April 16th at the Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. “This is the opportunity that I was waiting for. I feel really motivated for this fight, and I have the opportunity to show my people of Puerto Rico and to the world that I have what it takes to become the next great fighter from this Island. Five-time world champion and promoter Miguel Cotto said “This a really great fight for the fans, and will have two different styles above the ring. Luis has fantastic boxing skills and power to dominate Martínez, while Martínez is a ring veteran and a true warrior. I expect a great fight”. This fight is presented by Miguel Cotto Promotions, in association with Top Rank. Click here for more photos…

Amir “King” Khan will lead a strong bill on April 16 as he returns home to defend his WBA super lightweight world title against undefeated European Champion Paul McCloskey at the M.E.N Arena. In the co-feature, European middleweight champion Matthew Macklin will take on two-time world title challenger Khoren Gevor. Macklin was originally slated to face Winky Wright on April 9 in Las Vegas, but Wright pulled out with an injury and Macklin was moved to this card. (more…)

When Cuban heavyweight sensation Odlanier Solis challenges WBC champion Vitali Klitschko at Lanxess-Arena in Cologne this Saturday (March 19th) he has one man in his corner whom he has known for most of his life. Pedro Luis Diaz Benitez met Solis in Havana when he was still a young kid and immediately recognized his outstanding talent. “We compared him to Roberto Balado who was the best super heavyweight of the world at that time,” says Diaz. “It was obvious from the very first minute that the kid is special. He has got a spezial gift, he’s a natural born athlete. He would have been world class in whatever sport he would have decided to do. He is made for success and nothing but success.” (more…)

Jim Miller thought he was living in a bizarro world. Eight times he had toed the line in a UFC fight, and seven times he walked away with his hand raised in victory. The only man to defeat him, Gray Maynard, was fighting for the world lightweight championship. Miller’s last five fights were all wins, and if there was a short list of contenders for Frankie Edgar’s title, he was on it . . Click here for more by Thomas Gerbasi, UFC.com

Patrick Nielsen (8-0, 5 KOs) will headline the fourth TV2 Fight Night in Herning when he comes face-to-face with Gary Boulden (4-1-2) on April 2. It will be a big step up for the unbeaten 19-year-old who has been cleared to fight eight rounds at three minutes for the first time of his career. The new law will be in effect when unbeaten Nielsen steps through the ropes for the next time. “We are very grateful for the Danish Professional Boxing Federation and their president Michael Seemann to have cleared all the details with the Danish authorities,” promoter Nisse Sauerland said. “The new law will be great for Danish boxing in general and for Patrick in particular as he can now prove his worth under much tougher conditions.” (more…)